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Superintendent Brahim Llob is bored. Nothing seems to need his attention in an unusually quiet Algiers. Then suddenly peace is shattered in ways Llob could never have imagined. His subordinate, Lieutenant Lino, falls for an entirely unsuitable woman, and is devastated when she returns to a previous lover, the wealthy and influential Haj Thobane. Thobane survives an attempted murder that kills his chauffeur and Lino's gun is found at the scene. With Lino in prison, it is up to Llob to face down the corrupt echelons of the Algerian government to find the truth about what happened the night of the murder. The search will take the world-weary Llob down avenues even he has never encountered and will force him to delve into his beloved country's brutal past.

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Review

"Yasmina Khadra is one of the rare writers capable of giving a meaning to the violence in Algeria today." - Newsweek. "A writer who can understand man wherever he is..." - New York Times." --New York Times

(4.5 stars) Twenty-five years after Algeria's independence from France, the country is still suffering from political instability, corruption, and the residual rivalries and hatreds between those who supported French rule during the war (1954 - 1962) and the FLN and other groups, socialist and otherwise, which fought for independence. The devastated economy at the end of the war has not improved, people are living in poverty, religious fundamentalism is growing, the young have no future, and citizens everywhere are casting jaded eyes on those who reek of success.

In this newest installment of the Inspector Llob series, chronologically the "pre-quel" to the series, set in 1988, author Yasmina Khadra (in reality, a male Algerian army officer/writer who moved to France in 2000) turns a spotlight on Algeria's crumbling country and its demoralized citizens. Superintendent Llob, also a writer, is an honest police official who does not compromise. Smart-mouthed, with a cynical sense of humor and an understanding of the ironies of everyday life, Llob manages to stay afloat in the murky waters of Algerian bureaucracy. His assistant, Lieutenant Lino, is absent as this novel opens. He has fallen in love with a gorgeous woman, and as a result, he is spending lavishly on his clothes and appearance, calling in sick when he is not ill, and creating disturbances while drunk. In the meantime, SNP, an urepentant serial killer with no family name, has received a presidential pardon and is about to be released after spending seven years in an asylum and additional years in jail, and Llob cannot stop the release.

When the chauffeur of an influential Algiers bigwig is shot to death with Lino's gun, Lino is arrested and kept incommunicado, even from Llob. Additional murders, suggesting connections to the war-time past, send Llob to rural Sidi Ba with journalist/history professor Soria Karadach, a researcher studying atrocities which occurred in August, 1962, the month following the end of the war. A horrendous massacre occurred in Sidi Ba, and Llob interviews harkis (Muslim Algerians who worked with the French), maquisards (guerrillas who worked with the French Resistance), mujahids, and people claiming to be members of the FLN, socialist "freedom-fighters," to learn more about the massacre and those who might have been responsible.

Eventually, all the plot elements converge, and though the details of the plot are extremely complex, the novel is carefully constructed, and the mystery is satisfactorily resolved. Khadra creates well-developed characters, endowing them with human failings and often giving them a kind of dark humor which allows them to survive the violence and irrationality of everyday life in Algiers. His unique imagery gives depth to the atmosphere: A road is "orphaned by the loss of its paving stones," while a light rain "weeps into the city." Multiple levels of betrayal all contribute to the darkest of noir fiction and a vision of Algiers which makes one want to weep for the victims. For those who enjoy complex mysteries set in unusual locations with main characters one comes to care about, this mystery is both challenging and enlightening. n Mary Whipple

I first thought that it was the translators of his works that perhaps made reading him interesting and entertaining but this novel translated by another person still held my attention. My mind has been made up long time ago about Yasmina Khadra. He is my favourite writer

Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com

Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars
4 reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Yasmina Khadra novel

ByLarysa Mykytaon 16 July 2013 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase

I loved it because it is beautifully written yet a fascinating detective novel and at the same time time a mordant depiction and condemnation of the realities and corruption in contemporary Algeria. Would recommend it to anyone who likes a good story, irony and social critique all rolled into one.

I had to get this book for a required writing class last semester.All the characters are carefully crafted throughout this book. The feel of each scene is nicely conveyed to the reader as the author describes in detail how the characters react while walking down certain neighborhoods. Inspector Llob is easily a likable character in this book. He is unique in that there are moments where he is afraid but he still dares to move ahead if he believes he is onto something good and doing the right thing, this bravery you expect to find in a young action hero but Llob is actually a family man who is past his physical prime, all this makes Llob an every man's hero which gives him appeal. Llob is also in your face as he will tell it as it is and that usually ends up making people angry.Even though this book is fiction it tries to convey to the reader that there are real issues of corruption in Algeria and the people who try to fight this corruption are massively overpowered but there is hope when there is even one person fighting.I took one star off because it didn't fully explain the side characters background enough. small details make big stories.

last impressions on this book: I was suppose to "learn" something about Algeria with this book according to my professor, however what i took away was a great detective story. I usually stay away from detective stories because they are usually predictable (i'm more of a science fiction reader), but this book was exceptionally suspenseful, raw, and memorable. This book also is different in that it is in a foreign environment, with different street rules and government laws making this slightly more appealing since i like different environments.

5.0 out of 5 stars"Of all the hydra-headed monsters, man is the only one that knows how to cross the line into animalism while remaining lucid."

ByMary Whippleon 7 October 2009 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback

(4.5 stars) Twenty-five years after Algeria's independence from France, the country is still suffering from political instability, corruption, and the residual rivalries and hatreds between those who supported French rule during the war (1954 - 1962) and the FLN and other groups, socialist and otherwise, which fought for independence. The devastated economy at the end of the war has not improved, people are living in poverty, religious fundamentalism is growing, the young have no future, and citizens everywhere are casting jaded eyes on those who reek of success.

In this newest installment of the Inspector Llob series, chronologically the "pre-quel" to the series, set in 1988, author Yasmina Khadra (in reality, a male Algerian army officer/writer who moved to France in 2000) turns a spotlight on Algeria's crumbling country and its demoralized citizens. Superintendent Llob, also a writer, is an honest police official who does not compromise. Smart-mouthed, with a cynical sense of humor and an understanding of the ironies of everyday life, Llob manages to stay afloat in the murky waters of Algerian bureaucracy. His assistant, Lieutenant Lino, is absent as this novel opens. He has fallen in love with a gorgeous woman, and as a result, he is spending lavishly on his clothes and appearance, calling in sick when he is not ill, and creating disturbances while drunk. In the meantime, SNP, an urepentant serial killer with no family name, has received a presidential pardon and is about to be released after spending seven years in an asylum and additional years in jail, and Llob cannot stop the release.

When the chauffeur of an influential Algiers bigwig is shot to death with Lino's gun, Lino is arrested and kept incommunicado, even from Llob. Additional murders, suggesting connections to the war-time past, send Llob to rural Sidi Ba with journalist/history professor Soria Karadach, a researcher studying atrocities which occurred in August, 1962, the month following the end of the war. A horrendous massacre occurred in Sidi Ba, and Llob interviews harkis (Muslim Algerians who worked with the French), maquisards (guerrillas who also worked with the French Resistance), mujahids, and people claiming to be members of the FLN, socialist "freedom-fighters," to learn more about the massacre and those who might have been responsible.

Eventually, the events of Sidi Ba and the arrest of Lino converge, and though the details of the plot are extremely complex, the novel is carefully constructed, and the mystery is satisfactorily resolved. Khadra creates well-developed characters, endowing them with human failings and often giving them a kind of dark humor which allows them to survive the violence and irrationality of everyday life in Algiers. His unique imagery gives depth to the atmosphere: A road is "orphaned by the loss of its paving stones," while a light rain "weeps into the city." Multiple levels of betrayal all contribute to the darkest of noir fiction and a vision of Algiers which makes one want to weep for the victims. For those who enjoy complex mysteries set in unusual locations with main characters one comes to care about, this mystery is both challenging and enlightening. n Mary Whipple